


(lay my) curses out to rest

by isthismydesign



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Character Death, Detective C. C. Tinsley, Tinsley is really kinda mean, like a lot of it, no beta we die like men, okay hes an asshole, tinsley kicks the goldsworths asses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:27:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24432805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isthismydesign/pseuds/isthismydesign
Summary: Every word I say is kindlingBut the smoke clears when you're aroundWon't you stay with me, my darlingWhen my walls start burning down, down, down?
Relationships: Ricky Goldsworth & C.C. Tinsley, Ricky Goldsworth/C. C. Tinsley, Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	(lay my) curses out to rest

**Author's Note:**

> HEY GUESS WHAT THIS IS DEPRESSING AS ALL GETOUT  
> you have been warned | check the tags please nothing is described in a ton of detail but better safe than sorry.  
> tinsley is pretty, no, v e r y evil in this. just a real piece of work.  
> the ricky/tinsley action isnt obvious, its just a few hints here and there.

C.C. Tinsley hummed as he walked down a stretch of midnight road, his steps carefully taken, every note on key. He was a careful man, and many mistook that carefulness as cowardice. It wouldn’t be the first time, nor would it be the last. But that mistake was helpful. Some would bet everything on that mistake, be helpless without it. Tinsley took nothing for granted, left nothing to chance. He knew that the Goldsworths thought he was a coward. He had heard as much, from the family themselves and from their employees, a word Tinsley was sure didn’t apply to the many people the Goldsworth family had scared into keeping silent. 

A family as old as them should have known that fear wouldn’t keep people silent forever, but that was their mistake to make. He knew that Ricky would make that mistake, but he expected more from Ricky’s mother, Lucy Goldsworth. Tinsley was well aware that Lucía hated to be called Lucy, which is why he took a special amount of pride that his nickname for Lucía had caught on as quickly as it did. No one except Tinsley had the guts to call her Lucy to her face, yet. But he knew it was just a matter of time. Whereas Lucía’s name was whispered with none too described fear, Lucy was a name that would be said with disgust, contempt. Nothing that she didn’t deserve, and besides, after tonight, Lucy Goldsworth wouldn’t care much of what people called her. 

The Goldsworths thought he skipped town a month ago, and he knew that they reveled in the fear they thought he had fled with. But Ricky gloated over it, used it as proof that his small place as top dog in the city was deserved. Ricky was so quick to anger, so fast to get to his feet, too eager to prove himself. Whether it was to his family or to himself Tinsley didn’t know, and he made a mental note to ask him tonight. The family was too quick to brag about things that were best left alone, at least to the outsider that Tinsley had been. Their mistake was that his relocation to the town was permanent. They treated him as a long-term project, something that a few years from now, would come in handy. 

But Tinsley never intended to stay. He told an acquaintance as such, three months ago, when he first moved away from Chicago. By this time next year, he recalled telling Special Agent Steven Lim, the Goldsworths will be nothing but ashes. Tinsley hummed again, thinking about how he should have told Steven six months, not a year. 

The first night he arrived in town, a black car had arrived at his door at 11:11 pm. Tinsley knew who it was, knew what they wanted, knew what they deserved. But the Goldsworths didn't need to know that, did they? He played the role of a bumbling idiot who solved his cases by calling in favors and shocking amounts of luck. He introduced himself as Charlie, never missing how the family purred the name, every syllable full of a condescending smugness that made him want to vomit. He broke just enough rules to make it seem like he didn’t know his way around, but not enough to get in trouble. The family treated him like an old and dying pet, one that no one liked but was nice to because it was dying. 

That was the night Tinsley met Lucía Goldsworth. The house that the black car took him to was such a show of wealth and borderline royalty that Tinsley almost laughed out loud. The meeting went as well as expected. He turned away a drink and cigarette, saying that he didn’t drink and cigarettes made him cough. The family laughed, and Tinsley pretended to not know why. Lucy was there, as well as her only son Ricardo. The moment he saw Ricardo, Tinsley could tell that he was illegitimate. Tinsley didn’t really care, but it was fun to track down the father’s grave, if only to laugh at the man who made riling Ricky up so much fun. He almost got punched the first time he called Ricardo the nickname. Only Lucy saved him out of pity. 

It didn’t take a private detective to know that Lucy held all the power in town, as well as a majority of the brains. The Mayor had the rest of the brains, which he used to obey every word out of the Goldsworth’s mouths. A pity he couldn’t be used, but it was better this way. He had killed too much for Lucy, hid too much evidence for Ricky. 

That’s how every meeting with the Goldsworth’s went. Tinsley turned into the character Charlie, annoyed someone, amused another, usually for the same reason. He acted like he didn’t know a lick of the rapid Italian or Spanish that the family used to mock him or talk about something illegal. He certainly didn’t let on that he knew who Ricky’s father was, didn’t know that Lucy was dying from broken lungs, and he certainly didn’t let the Goldsworth family know that he knew Ricky was a homosexual from the moment Tinsley saw him. 

Every night he went back to his apartment and recorded everything new he’d learned in so much code that no one thought that the neat cursive could possibly be information. Two months into his investigation, Tinsley had so much incriminating evidence and witnesses that he didn’t understand how the family had been around this long. He decided that Lucy’s illness was responsible for dulling her usually sharp mind, and that Ricky had simply never bothered to learn the finesse that his family business required. Lord help him, but Tinsley was bored. Serial killers back home in Chicago were more of a challenge.

So Tinsley broke a rule, crossed a line, sassed Ricky too many times, and he ended up in the middle of the woods with broken ribs for his efforts. After Charlie “stumbled” home, he packed a bag and “fled” back to Chicago. Tinsley watched as “his” train left the station, allowing himself a smile when he heard of the party that the Goldsworths were throwing that night.  
He’d spent the subsequent weeks staying out of the family’s line of sight, using his own kind of intimidation to gather witnesses’ statements, and even uncover an elusive paper trail that Ricky left behind in his teenage years. 

He made his cases against every member of the household, sparing no one. Lucy, Ricky, the Mayor, Fran, even the maid Holly had played her part. He made cases for Lucy’s parents as well, just to tarnish the family name a little bit more. Normally he wouldn’t have bothered, but the Goldsworth’s dependency on their family name would come back to haunt them. 

Tinsley stopped, looking up at the dark and quiet mansion. Several people melted out of the shadows of the trees surrounding the property, which was, thankfully miles away from town. Every male member of the Alverez and Rubio family old enough to strike a match was here. Just two of the poorer, but bigger, families the Goldsworth family had angered in recent years. Lucy had sued the Alverez family for every penny they had after angering her somehow, while Ricky had killed several members of the Rubio family to force them into silence. 

“The power is out?” Tinsley checked.

The head of the Rubio family, Marco, nodded. “The windows have been locked, and Alverez and his family are almost done barricading the back doors. My sons have gone to retrieve the rest of the supplies.” 

Tinsley smiled, never taking his eyes off the house. It was much more beautiful like this, dark and soon to be empty. Nicer things like mansions were built to be destroyed in his opinion. And the Goldsworth family mansion begged to be returned to nature. 

Alverez gave Tinsley the signal just as a candle flared to life in a third story window. No doubt it was Lucy, who was a light sleeper since the pain of her lungs began creeping into her sleeping hours. She would be calling to the Mayor, who would then go to Ricky. Tinsley moved toward the house at a leisurely pace, the moonlight was bright enough that Lucy could no doubt see him approach. 

Tinsley began to hum again. All around the house, men moved silently, circling the house. Making sure that no one escaped. The guards at the front door were taken care of silently as he heard Ricky running down the stairs. 

_There's a fire in my brain and I’m burning up, oh my, oh my_

Several people grabbed Ricky, forcing him on his knees, and others continued up the stairs. 

_Keep running for the sink but the well is dry, oh my, oh my_

Tinsley kept to the shadows. Moments later, Fran, Holly, and the Mayor were brought down to the foyer. A struggle was heard upstairs, the sound of glass breaking. Ricky yelled at his mother to hide. 

Lucy couldn’t hide from Tinsley forever, and he was privately glad that she didn’t attempt to fight too much. 

_Every word I say is kindling_

Tinsley laughed as Lucy was led downstairs. He wasn't heartless, he gave her the dignity she deserved. 

_But the smoke clears when you’re around_

He stepped into the light. 

Only Lucy didn’t look shocked. The Mayor controlled his features, but it was clear he could have never seen Tinsley coming. Fran gasped, Holly began to cry. Poor Holly, she seemed to be the only one of them who had noticed Charlie as an act. But she didn’t turn on the Goldsworths when he gave her the chance. And then there was Ricky. 

Tinsley had captured a lot of criminals. He’d stopped even more. He had done his fair share of storming bases and setting up traps. But he had never seen such hatred on someone’s face. His jaw was clenched so hard Tinsley briefly wondered if he would chip a tooth. Not that it mattered. Ricky’s eyes were sharpened and darkened in their anger. He violently tried to wrench himself away from the men that held him down. There was a pop and Tinsley knew from experience that Ricky’s shoulder was dislocated. 

_Won't you stay with me, my darling, when my walls start burning down, down, down_

Tinsley roughly grabbed Ricky’s chin, impressed with the defiance he saw in Ricky’s eyes. They both knew that their roles were reversed. Just a month ago Ricky had been in Tinsley’s position. Now Ricky was seeing Tinsley for the first time, and he knew Ricky hated how shocked he was when he realized that Charlie was a role. Tinsley took his time, wandering the foyer in a way that was so different from Charlie, that even Lucy watched him. 

_This house says my name like an elegy, oh my, oh my_

Charlie hated his height, he hated eye contact. He ducked down, walked slow, was timid with his movements. He softened the Chicago accent and did everything he could to not appear as a threat. Tinsley was different. He walked with a purpose, on the slow slide because he didn’t need to hurry either way. His eyes searched for every detail, a cold, calculating gaze that held its intensity when meeting the eyes of powerful people the same way it did when it looked at a painting. His movements were still gentle, but smooth and quick as well. 

Tinsley smiled at the family. 

_Echoing where my ghosts all used to be, oh my, oh my_

Ricky paled visibly, and Tinsley tried not to laugh. Failed. Holly was sobbing now, Fran looked scared. Lucy and the Mayor were resigned. 

“Take them to the driveway.” Tinsley ordered. Men rushed to obey the order. Holly could barely walk, Fran leaned heavily on Holly. Tinsley allowed the Mayor to help Lucy down the front steps. Ricky was the only one who didn’t get respect. He didn’t seem to want it, either. 

Tinsley followed them out the door. 

_There's still cobwebs in the corners_

He nodded and more men flowed into the house, gently the sound of liquid echoed out of the house. Ricky began to look nervous. Tinsley wondered if he should get this much pleasure from someone’s fear. He decided that no, he shouldn’t, but yet he did anyway. He resolved not to care.

_And the backyard's full of bones_

He was kind to Holly, she was an unwilling accomplice, but she played her part. Her death was over before it had begun, her body hit the pavement before the gunshot even echoed. Fran screamed. Ricky averted his eyes.

_Won’t you stay with me, my darling_

Holly’s blood didn’t pool, it flowed smoothly across the marble steps and down the slight incline of the driveway. Men moved quietly to gather her body. No one touched the blood, which was gathering where Fran had collapsed, crying.

She looked up at Tinsley, then. The hatred in her eyes almost rivaled Ricky’s. “I know you have called the Goldsworths monsters, but you have to know that the real monster is you!” She screamed at him. Tinsley smiled, the gesture meant to be comforting, not evil. Fran relaxed automatically. 

_When this house don’t feel like home_

Her blood mixed with Holly’s. 

_When this house don’t feel like home_

Anyone who might have argued for their innocence was dead. Tinsley doubted that Fran and Holly could have gotten away, but better safe than sorry. He was a careful man, after all. 

Tinsley spun around towards the mansion. The satisfaction of Ricky’s hatred was nothing compared to the satisfaction Tinsley got when he flinched at Tinsley’s sudden movement. Tinsley couldn’t help it, he laughed. Ricky glared at him, but Tinsley knew that his anger came from the situation, not Fran or Holly’s deaths. 

_Oh ashes, ashes, dust to dust_

Tinsley made eye contact with Ricky as he snapped his fingers. The house burst into flames. Ricky looked horrified and the Mayor looked at the mansion with wide, disbelieving eyes. Lucy bowed her head and began to pray. 

Tinsley turned to the Mayor, nodding his head at the man at his feet. 

_The devil’s after both of us_

The Mayor met his eyes as Tinsley pulled the trigger. Neither man blinked. 

_Oh lay my curses out to rest, make a mercy out of me_

Men came forward and took the Mayor’s body away.

Breathing deeply, Tinsley turned towards the mansion. The flames had reached the third floor, it wouldn’t be long before the inferno caught the attention of the town. But that didn’t necessarily mean a fire truck was on its way anytime soon. He looked at Lucy, who had finished her prayer. He spoke for the first time that night.

_This tired old machine is a-rumbling, oh my, oh my_

“They’ll be buried in the graveyard with the rest of your servants. Not immediately, of course. I’ll have to wait for the FBI traffic to slow down, but it’ll be done. Even I can’t cover this up. You and Ricky will be in the family mausoleum. I doubt I’ll want to wait as long before putting you to rest.” He said, letting his Chicago accent shine through. He waited.

Lucy turned toward her son. “Ricardo, you will meet your death like a Goldsworth, will you not?” 

Ricky nodded, and Tinsley was surprised to see tears in his eyes. “Of course mamma.” Ricky’s voice was smooth, although Tinsley heard it shake at the end. 

Lucy smiled, and Tinsley was reminded of the beautiful young woman whose portrait was burning in the mansion. “Ti amo tanto.” She turned away from her son, meeting Tinsley’s eyes. Any emotion was carefully locked away from Tinsley’s gaze. 

_Singing songs to the secrets behind my eye, oh my, oh my_

“Goodbye, Lucía.” Tinsley didn’t hesitate, he owed her that much. Ricky crawled over to her heedless of anyone other than his mother. He didn’t shake, but Tinsley saw his tears. His eyes, once so full of hatred and emotion, were only full of grief. He cradled Lucy’s head and turned to Tinsley.

Tinsley met Ricky’s gaze, as steady as his mother’s. But his emotions were obvious. He had never learned to hide them. Ricky who was so quick to anger, so fast to get to his feet, too eager to prove himself. He didn’t see a man wanting to prove himself, that must have been for his family. At least Tinsley didn’t have to ask. 

_All my aching bones are trembling  
And I may yet fall apart  
Won't you stay with me, my darling  
When the war starts in my heart?  
When the war starts in my heart?_

Tinsley felt a strange longing to leave Ricky alive. In another life, Tinsley knew in that moment they could have been something. Friends, best friends, maybe even lovers. He suddenly wondered if soulmates were real. “I don’t go by Charlie by the way. Just Charles. I’ve always hated being called Charlie.” 

Ricky didn’t blink. “I will haunt you for the rest of your life, Charles.”

Huh. Strange. Ricky didn’t seem like the type to believe in ghosts. Or the supernatural in general. Maybe Tinsley should have asked him. “Ghosts aren’t real, Ricardo.”

There was no smile at that, and yet Tinsley expected one. Ricky still didn’t blink. “But demons are.” And well, how could Tinsley argue with that?

_Oh ashes, ashes, dust to dust  
The devil's after both of us  
Oh, lay my curses out to rest  
Make a mercy out of me_

Either way, Tinsley knew that Ricky was right. 

_Oh ashes, ashes, dust to dust  
Tell me I am good enough  
Oh, lay my curses out to rest  
Make a mercy out of_

Curses  
The Crane Wives


End file.
